He said that those who disliked it could refrain from taking the jab. Weeratunga said so at a ceremony held at the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to receive the first consignment of COVID-19 control vaccines donated by the Government of India. The first consignment of vaccines was officially handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay. It was donated to Sri Lanka following a request made by the President to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Developed by the Oxford University in the UK, the AstraZeneca COVISHELD vaccine was manufactured at Serum Institute in Mumbai.